Elizabeth was my very good friend when she lived in Atlantic City,NJ.I had finished my studies at Wharton,& she would visit,a family wine retail business,I was managing at the time.We became wonderful friends,& I relished the dinners she would prepare,and invite me to at her Berkeley Condo.on the Atlantic City Boardwalk,high on the 20th + floor.I would always arrive with an interesting bottle of wine or two! -Which we enjoyed.( & devoured) One of our mutual favorites was Bouvet Brut,from France,an inexpensive sparkling, but it came from our beloved country of France ,where we both had spent time,and shared our experiences .Each year Elizabeth would often leave NJ for the winter to spend time in Mexico, in one of the artistic,& colorful ,& cultural towns,& I remember the winter she spent once in Portugal.Our dinners at her Berkeley Condo will always be one of the highlights of my life. I still remember many of the menus served,( 3 courses)and their simplicity, but served with elegance,and always on China..One of my favorites was smoked salmon on rye toast with fresh capers as an appetizer,accompanied by a bottle of our Bouvet Brut,before our dinner. She was generous in her free time & longed for culture,as did I ,in often very culturally barren So.Jersey.She volunteered with Literacy Leaders,and taught English to college grad.,legal residents from South America, which she enjoyed, and her prized student was Anna,who I think ? Was from Peru,& who I met on several occasions.I was her good friend and confident for some time,& remember when she re connected with Frank,her husband to be.She shared all the details of their courtship, and how they first reconnected from Long ago ,and how that came about.I was elated & happy for her,yet saddened she would be relocating to Florida.We kept in touch after she married via our fax process,& I still have all of the faxes she sent me.I missed her,and our dinners and talks very much.Although we are different in ages by 30 plus years,I felt she was my very good friend and I hers, and we taught each other,and trusted and felt safe opening up to each other.Our last visit in person,was when she visited AC,as Mrs Sevier,with Frank and the 3 of us had a delightful dinner at a Cape May NJ restaurant where the food was superb,and as is often done in Cape May,it was a BYO,and Frank bought 2 bottles of superior wine he personally selected ,and they were carried that evening in a green plastic cooler ,very high tech.Funny how I remember the green cooler and that Elizabeth liked lamb chops.Oh ,how lovely we remember what we do!We last had contact when Elizabeth and Frank lived on the East Coast of Florida,and then my letters and cards were eventually returned,stating moved, no forwarding address.Today in my photo collection I came across photos of Elizabeth as well as one of her and Frank from our last dinner in Cape May.I tried to find her in Florida,forgetting her married name,but Eventually put in her former name,Rienzi + Atlantic City,and tracked her down,at last.I was so thrilled I could at last call her, only to learn she passed In June 2017.I am silenced and so very saddened by the news,and was so honored and privileged to have Elizabeth her as my treasured & trusted friend ,and confidant while you lived in AC.I am so sorry I finally found you,but thatv you now are in heaven.From heaven ,I hope you may hear, that you were so often the sunshine in my life,and my soul and spirit danced whenever I was a guest at your dinners for two.We talked usually endlessky of books and I remember the books you had,the layout of your condo,and your art deco like living room, the color orange, sprinkled about and your round white dinner table, with the comfortable chairs adjacent to your small kitchen.It was our conversations ,stories,& laughter that made our dinners so memorable.Thank you Elizabeth for making my spirit dance and feel Alive, my soul soar and my heart smile.Your candle and our memories shall be
